Process of distilling turpentine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH B. UNDERIVOOD, OF FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA.

PROCESS OF DIS'T'ILLING TURPENTINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,942, dated December4, 1888.

I Application filed May 25, 1888. $erial No. 275,076. (Specimens) To allwhom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH B. U NDER- WOOD, of Fayetteville, in thecounty of Cumberland. and State of North Carolina, haveinvented a newand useful Improvement in the Process of Distilling Turpentine, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of a process of distilling spirits ofturpentine, designed to increase the yield from a given quantity ofcrude turpentine and to improve the character of the product.

To this end it consists in distilling the crude turpentine in thepresence of refined petroleum having about the same specific gravity asspirits of turpentine or less.

In carrying out my invention I take one barrel (two hundred and eightypounds gross weight) of crude turpentine, and to it add about gallons ofrefined petroleum of about 150 fire-test, and having about the samespecific gravity of spirits of turpentine or less. If the turpentine isdry, I also add about one gallon of water and mix these materialsthoroughly together, preferably the turpentine and petroleum first, andthen add water if it should require it. I This mixture I prefer to letstand for some days; but it maybe distilled at once and the addition ofwater may be omitted. To some dip turpentine it is not necessary to addwater, but to scrape it is always necessary as a matter of safety, sinceit is always dry as it comes to market.

\Vhen vir in turoentine is used a lar er quantity of petroleum may beused, as it is richer in the lighter hydrocarbons than the others.

If the crude turpentine used be what is known as yellow dip, I employ asmaller charge of material in the still than is usually employed. Theobject of this is to reduce the liability to foam and boil over, whichis increased by my process, and which is liable to produce disastrousresults. The still being supplied with a quantity of the mixture, thedistilling is allowed to proceed in the usual way, a constant stream ofwater being allowed torun into the still till the rosin is ready to bedischarged, which water keeps down the temperature and prevents boilingover.

When the operation is complete, it will be found that an increase of avery large per cent. in the yield of distilled spirit is secured, thepetroleum acting as an auxiliary solvent for the principles of theturpentine, and securing a more perfect extraction from the rosin of allthe valuable properties inherent in spirits of turpentine, and as allthese distilled matters go over together they have the samevaporizing-point as the spirits of turpentine, and do not after coolingseparate, as a mere mixture of petroleum and spirits of turpentineWould. Furthermore, the petroleum elements unite chemically with theresinous acids, and form a stable compound as a dis tillate, which isnot only not separable, but which for industrial uses is more valuablethan the simple spirits of turpentine, since the new product possessesgreater solvent properties and better drying properties. The rosin whichis left by my process is also changed in character for the better, as itcontains among other new elements a proportion of paraffine, whichimparts a toughness and body to it that gives it an increased commercialvalue as a base for the formation of a varnish that will not crack, anexcellent varnish being formed by simply dissolving this rosin in aproportion of my new product after it has been freed from all its water.

Another advantage secured by my process is, that I am enabled to effectthe distillation at a lower temperature, and thus protect the rosinagainst coloring, as it is well known that the coloring takes placequickly under high heat in the ordinary distillation, which colordepreciates the quality and value of the rosin.

By my process the spirits may be all expelled in the presence of water,as the addition of the petroleum to the crude mass dis solves it to thatextent even before the heat is applied (if it is allowed to stand for awhile) that the lighter properties forming the spirits come over withthe water when the heat applied, thus leaving the rosin with the heavieroils to be expelled or distilled over at a higher heat as a separatedistillate in the absence of water, making rosin-oil of it; or, ifpreferred, when the water-supply is cut off, the rosin may bedischarged, as in the ordinary manner, having been all the timeproteeted by the water, while spirits were being The process hereindescribed of increasing the yield of spirits of t u rpen tine bythoroughly mixing with the crude turpentine a refined petroleum, asdescribed, and distilling the mixture, thereby obtaining not only anincreased yield ot' spirit, but also toughening the rosin left as aresiduum, substantially as 20 deseribed.

JOSEPH I I'NDEIUVOOD.

\Vitnesses:

I. HAIGH, In, .I. l). \VILLL-ms, Jr.

